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Can business extend the reach of nonprofits? To help serve its philanthropic mission, a social business tries to profit.
IN the summer of 2005, Miles Gilburne and Nina Zolt had long talks over dinner in their Washington home about what to do next. For more than six years, Mr. Gilburne, a former AOL executive, and his wife, Ms. Zolt, a former lawyer, had supported a philanthropy that used books and online tools to enhance skills of inner-city students.
The program, which Ms. Zolt directed, had been moderately successful. Students liked writing online about books and sharing their ideas with Internet pen pals, including adult mentors. Many teachers embraced the project, called In2Books, and participating students outscored their peers in standardized tests.
Still, the costly venture grew only gradually, classroom by classroom. The couple had put $10 million into the charity, a "meaningful portion" of the family wealth, Mr. Gilburne says. "It was enough money that I did lie awake at night thinking about the size of the checks," he recalls.
As philanthropy, the couple's efforts, however worthwhile, weren't sustainable. But their vision of using the Internet for communication and collaboration to improve education has taken on a new life — as a business.
Today, the once-struggling venture has morphed into a primarily for-profit enterprise. And the striking transformation of In2Books is emblematic of a larger trend: charities are changing their spots and making use of some of capitalism's virtues.
The process is being pushed forward by a new breed of social entrepreneurs who are administering increasing doses of bottom-line thinking to traditional philanthropy in order to make charity more effective.
To make a fresh start, Mr. Gilburne attracted like-minded angel investors, and at the end of 2006 the group bought a for-profit company, ePals Inc., to expand on the original mission and support the foundation. The ePals company has grown and now offers classroom e-mail, blogs, online literacy tools and Web-based collaborative projects on subjects like global warming and habitats.
EPals says 125,000 classrooms around the world are using at least some of its free tools, reaching 13 million students, and its ambition is to become a global "learning social network."
National Geographic is to announce this week that it is investing in ePals, based in Herndon, Va., and will supply educational content for the ePals learning projects. Worldwide distribution should get a lift from Intel, which will soon ship its Classmate laptops, designed for students in developing nations, with the ePals icon on the screens. And ePals is also offered for use on the low-cost computers from One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit group trying to bring the content and experience of the Internet to children in developing countries worldwide.
Various versions of efforts like this are appearing across the philanthropic landscape as business-minded donors, epitomized by Bill and Melinda Gates and their foundation, have treated their charitable contributions more like venture capital investments. They seek programs that can be catalysts for broad changes in fields like health, education and the environment, they measure performance and results, and they encourage nonprofits to become more self-sustaining.
Yet to have the greatest possible impact, a further step down the capitalist road is sometimes needed, analysts and others in the field say. Muhammad Yunus, the microfinance pioneer and Nobel laureate, calls this next step the "social business." The goal, according to Mr. Yunus, is to create ventures that more than pay for themselves — in other words, turn a profit.
Social business entrepreneurs, he writes, can help "make the market work for social goals as efficiently as it does for personal goals."
PHILANTHROPIES are discovering that for-profit status and financing can be a useful tool. For example, many microfinance lenders, modeled after Mr. Yunus's project, the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, aim to make the crossover to profit-making institutions.
Mozilla, the nonprofit foundation that developed the open-source Web browser Firefox, decided that it needed a for-profit unit to accelerate its business activities and gain market share against Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The business unit is freer to spend on marketing, charge for software service and technical support, and pay to compete for engineering talent in Silicon Valley.
Likewise, Google.org, the search giant's corporate foundation, chose for-profit status to be able to easily make investments in for-profit companies including alternative energy start-ups like eSolar and Makani Power.
"Capitalism is a very mutable, flexible beast, and what we're seeing is social entrepreneurs addressing some of these social challenges in profoundly different ways than traditional nonprofit organizations," said John Elkington, co-author with Pamela Hartigan of "The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets that Change the World," a new book that was handed out last month to attendees at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Even among its hybrid peers, ePals has evolved into an unusual combination of a business and a social venture. When Mr. Gilburne and Ms. Zolt established the for-profit arm in 2006, they attracted like-minded investors, acquired ePals Inc. and began hiring talented staff. They gave the original education foundation a 15 percent stake in the ePals company, and its endowment will grow if the business prospers. The nonprofit division is focusing on educational research and bringing technology into classrooms.
But the company is where the action is. "This needs to be a large business to have a really significant social impact," Mr. Gilburne said. "We couldn't do what we're doing as a nonprofit."
Very few nonprofits get big. Only 144 of the more than 200,000 nonprofits established since 1970 had grown to $50 million or more in revenue by 2003, according to a study published last year by the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm that advises philanthropies.
With the rising influence of social entrepreneurs in philanthropy, many nonprofits have sought to generate revenue to become more self-sustaining. But it is still rare for a nonprofit to cross the chasm to become mainly a profit-seeking business, as in the ePals experience.
"It's tricky, but it makes sense when the business is highly aligned with the mission of the social entrepreneurs," said Jeffrey L. Bradach, a managing partner of Bridgespan.
As a for-profit business, ePals can more easily attract financing for growth. But outside investors raise the risk that the original social ideals will be lost in a single-minded pursuit of profit. Mr. Gilburne has tried to avoid that pitfall by gathering a stable of angel investors among his longtime business friends, who bring not only money but also a shared belief in the promise of the Internet to improve education.
The group includes Stephen M. Case, the former chief executive of AOL; Mitchell Kapor, the founder of the early spreadsheet maker Lotus Development and an open-source software supporter; and Yossi Vardi, an Israeli Internet entrepreneur.
"None of our investors are interested just in making another financial score," Mr. Gilburne said.
AFTER pooling their money, the angel investors bought the ePals company in December 2006 for an undisclosed price. Mr. Gilburne had watched ePals for years, starting when he was at AOL in the 1990s, and he saw it as the foundation on which to build an educational social network.
EPals started as a Web-based electronic pen-pal service in 1996, offering point-and-click tools that teachers could use to control how students use e-mail. A teacher in California, for example, set the controls so her class could communicate online only with a class in China that was engaged in a joint cultural exchange project.
Since the angel investors came aboard in 2006, the ePals work force has more than doubled, to 43, and the company continues to hire. It has improved the e-mail and blogging software and added links to outside resources, like National Geographic's digital library, to its Web-based software for online projects.
"We were a small company with little capital," said Tim DiScipio, a founder of the original ePals, who is the chief marketing officer of the revamped company under its new ownership. "But now we have the resources to really pursue the vision of social learning over the Internet."
Until last fall, ePals charged $3 to $5 a year for each student e-mail account, but the service is now free. The effect of free distribution was immediate and dramatic. The number of registered users has nearly doubled, to 13 million, since September.
The growth and ambition of ePals have impressed National Geographic enough to make an investment and forge a partnership.
"We're looking at them as a global network to distribute National Geographic content," explained Edward M. Prince, the chief operating officer of the venture arm of the nonprofit scientific and educational organization.
The ePals team is betting that it can build a worldwide social network in education — a serious, controlled version of Facebook, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. "When markets go digital, they go collaborative and sharing," said Edmund Fish, the chief executive of ePals and a former executive of AOL, where he oversaw online education offerings. "That can happen in education, too. A learning social network is not an oxymoron."
Even the basic social networking of ePals e-mail exchanges, teachers say, helps improve writing skills and stirs curiosity about other cultures. Mirjana Milovic, a teacher in Kragujevac, Serbia, says ePals has helped the 120 students in her school with their English-language skills. Their correspondents in Alabama and Kansas have also learned that jeans and Nike shoes are popular in Kragujevac but that the McDonald's in town closed for lack of business.
"We usually prefer our domestic food," wrote Marija, an 18-year-old.
Candace Pauchnick, who teaches English and sociology at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, has been using ePals for what she calls "virtual field trips." In their online exchanges with students in Italy, China and the Czech Republic, her students have learned about family life and political systems in foreign lands and improved their writing skills.
"If they were just writing for me, they wouldn't be as careful," Ms. Pauchnick said. "But they're writing for a student in another country. It's not drudgery for them. They buy in and they enjoy it."
Ms. Zolt, the chief program architect of ePals, endorsed the for-profit route but insisted that the digital network also provide a free searchable database for educational research.
"The promise here is to be able to study, with vast amounts of real-time data, how children learn," she said.
Scholars are enthusiastic. "Its potential is very exciting," said Linda B. Gambrell, a professor of education at Clemson University, who is one of the academic advisers of ePals. "This should help us quicken the pace of translating innovative research into best practices in the classroom."
Like many start-up companies, the revamped ePals is still working on its business model. Mr. Gilburne, the chairman, says it will pursue corporate sponsors for certain project areas. These could be part of a company's community and social responsibility activities, providing approved adult experts to help students online. For example, General Electric might sponsor ePals' global warming section by providing environmental experts as online mentors, Mr. Gilburne said, or perhaps Intel or I.B.M. would help in engineering projects.
There are commerce opportunities, Mr. Gilburne added, for education publishers who might want to market books or curriculum materials for home-school students over ePals.
Eventually, Mr. Gilburne said, advertising will be part of the mix. "But we'll go gingerly to figure out what is appropriate and doesn't impose on the classroom," he said.
The failure rate for entrepreneurs — whether social or purely capitalist — is high. Still, ePals' backers are betting that it is worth the risk. "These kinds of opportunities to do well and do good at the same time don't grow on trees," said Mr. Kapor, the ePals investor and a philanthropist. "But I do think that ePals could be one of them."


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A New Green Dragon Tavern Planned in California
Charles Bahne alerted the Boston 1775 editorial team to this news item from Carlsbad, California, filed by Deanne Goodman:
A colonial-themed museum and restaurant based on The Green Dragon Tavern in Boston, MA is being built where Hadley Fruit Orchards sat closed for 10 years on Paseo Del Norte.There are, of course, 150 years of history separating "pilgrims and the Revolutionary War." And contrary to the writer's understanding, today's Green Dragon Tavern has no connection to the eighteenth-century Freemasons' lodge whose name it borrowed.
The real Green Dragon Tavern in Boston was established in 1654 and said to be a planning site for the Boston Tea Party. It still operates as a pub and restaurant in Boston.
Carlsbad City Council approved the project in 2009. The project is now in the demolition stages. Jason Goff with the City of Carlsbad Planning Division said, "we are encouraged by the redevelopment of this site especially given the economic market."
According to public city records, Carlsbad's Green Dragon Tavern & Museum Colonial Village has plans to hire local history teachers to teach students about pilgrims and the Revolutionary War, in addition to being a restaurant and bookstore.
However, the sketch of the project indicates the architects will base their building on how the original Green Dragon Tavern looked in 1773, according to Revolutionary War artillerist and portrait painter John Johnson. Plus, some additional buildings.

subset: commoncrawl


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Prime Rib of Beef with Juniper Cream Sauce
Juniper berries add an irresistible accent to this classic roast. Find them in your grocer's spice rack or in speciality gourmet shops.
For the prime rib:
2 tablespoons freshly ground coffee beans
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 beef rib roast, 7 to 8 pounds
Olive oil for brushing roast
For the cream sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 quart beef gravy or brown sauce
2 cups dry white wine
10 to 20 juniper berries, tied in a cheesecloth sachet
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons red currant jelly
2 tablespoons gin
To prepare the prime rib: In a small bowl combine ground coffee, salt, and pepper. Rub mixture on beef roast, pressing into the surface. Brush lightly with oil.
Place roast in centre of cooking grate. Grill 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 hours for rare (140°F/60°C), 2-1/2 to 3 hours for medium (160° F/71° C). Remove from grill and let roast rest 10 minutes before carving. Make cream sauce in last half-hour of roast cooking time.
To make the cream sauce: In a medium saucepan melt butter. Add mushrooms and shallots; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. Add gravy, wine, and juniper berry sachet. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Strain reduced sauce; return to saucepan. Stir in red currant jelly and cook over low heat until jelly is dissolved. Stir in gin. Remove from heat. Gently fold in whipped cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, place a little cream sauce on a plate; top with a slice of beef roast.
Makes about 12 servings.
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Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, is teaming up with Sony to bring the magic of Hogwarts into your living room. The new game for the PS3 titled "Wonderbook: Book of Spells" is an innovative approach at combining reading with augmented reality gaming. "Book of Spells" is both the first release for the PS3's new "Wonderbook" peripheral and the first product from the joint venture of Sony and Rowling's "Pottermore." The game will feature new written content from Rowling herself along with spell-practice via the Playstation Move Motion Controller (which is the wand Ollivander is now contractually obligated to hand out to new students). "Wonderbook: Book of Spells" debuts this November in Europe and this December in North America, with further releases to follow. Hit the jump to check out the press release.
Check out the following press release for the new game from J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter universe, as well as the trailer below (via The Leaky Cauldron). Editorial Note: Is it just me or is Rowling starting to get a bit of the George Lucas vibe to her? It's too early to tell, but do you think there's a chance we'll be discussing the Harry Potter franchise some day in the way we discuss the Star Wars franchise today, in terms of "selling out" and "beating a dead horse" and such? Food for thought. Let me know what you think in the comments.
TOKYO, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. today announced Wonderbook™: Book of Spells from SCE London Studios in collaboration with J.K. Rowling. Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the first title to be published which uses the innovative new PlayStation®3 peripheral, Wonderbook, and will transform the world around you with the next step in reading and augmented reality gaming. It is also the first product to result from Sony's partnership with Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's unique and free-to-use website that builds an exciting online experience around the reading of her hugely successful Harry Potter™ books.
Featuring exclusive new and original writing from J.K. Rowling, Wonderbook: Book of Spells comes to life as you read, allowing you to cast spells with your PlayStation®Move Motion Controller which becomes your own magic wand. Go on a fantastic journey to read and learn the secrets of wizardry and the art of spell-casting, just like a student at Hogwarts™, when it is released in November 2012 in Europe and December 2012 in North America. Wonderbook: Book of Spells will also be coming to other countries and regions following this window.
J.K. Rowling said, "Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook. I've loved working with Sony's creative team to bring my spells, and some of the history behind them, to life. This is an extraordinary device that offers a reading experience like no other."
Andrew House, President and Group CEO of SCE said, "The partnership between J.K. Rowling and Sony, and in particular Sony Computer Entertainment, is one I am personally very excited about. We have brought together one of the world's greatest entertainment brands and the most successful children's book series in history."
He continued, "We believe that Wonderbook: Book of Spells represents the next revolution in story-telling and are excited that PlayStation technologies are able to bring even more of the world of Harry Potter to life in exciting new ways."
Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the first title for Wonderbook, the latest addition to the PlayStation experience. Wonderbook will bring to life a thousand stories in one physical book with a brand new series of adventures and experiences to explore. A powerful storytelling vehicle and tool for the imagination, Wonderbook will bring exclusive content to PlayStation 3 owners in immersive new ways by putting you at the heart of the action, and using augmented reality technology via PlayStation®Eye to transform the world around you. Bringing mystery and discovery to your living room, the titles will draw you into new worlds, and give you the chance to live in the stories you love.
Book of Spells is presented as being written by Miranda Goshawk over two hundred years ago, and can be found in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. It is an advanced textbook for students, which will assist them on their journey to becoming an accomplished witch or wizard.
Released in November 2012, Wonderbook: Book of Spells provides students with a safe environment in which to read, discover, learn and practise spells they already know and love, such as Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa and Expelliarmus, as well as discover mischievous notes and spells scribbled into the margins by previous Hogwarts students. In addition to humorous anecdotal facts relating to the spells, J.K. Rowling has written a conundrum that leads you through the experience, providing insight into what makes a successful witch or wizard, and inviting fans to journey through the book and unlock new tales at the end of each chapter rewarding students for their successful spell-casting.


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Yesterday we talked about how Cameron Diaz is set to cash in with a new man worth $4.5 billion. What's she going to have to do for all that money? According to his very pissed off ex-wife, a LOT.
Elon Musk has been married twice. The first and longest marriage was to Justine Musk, his college sweetheart who stood by him as he built his fortune. After 8 years and 5 kids though, the marriage played out the way so many doomed first marriages do - she felt underappreciated, he wanted her to become a brainless Stepford, things got messy. What most scorned first wives DON'T get to do though is air their dirty laundry in Marie Claire.
In the middle of their court battle over a postnuptial agreement, Justine wrote a tell-all for the magazine and she didn't paint a pretty picture. She described how he effectively transformed her into a typical Bel Air trophy wife, telling her she read too much and encouraging her to "go platinum" with her hair. Gross. Yes, hers is obviously only half of the story but she includes some pretty concrete examples of him being a domineering, sexist douche.
So what does this mean for Cameron? Well based on her dynamic with A-Rod, it sounds like she's found another alpha to make her his beta:
It also sounds like she's landed the world's richest star f*cker. Justine's story includes anecdotes about how they partied next to Leo and Paris, and went to Starbucks with Daryl Hannah. Ok, yes, I'd like to hit the club with Leo, but partying with Paris? Doesn't that seem like something that's not that exclusive a luxury? Like for sure a lot of people have snorted bumps off those keys, right? And Daryl Hannah? Love her, Elle Driver is everything, but walk up to her and ask her about fracking and I'm SURE you could get a coffee date out of that.
The one bright spot on Elon's record is that, for a corporate billionaire, he seems to really be into the environment, and is using his power to bring the electric car to the masses. Also, he's apparently inventing something called the Hyperloop, which is half concord jet, half train. If you're someone who hates flying as much as I do, you'll agree he can be as douchy as he wants if he pulls that off.
Thanks to all of you for the tip on Justine's article! And for those of you who haven't, click here to read her piece in Marie Claire.


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The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) placed on public notice the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permit for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon. The public notice period will run from July 3 through August 3 of this year. A public hearing will be held mid-August in Vernon. ANR, acting upon Vermont Yankee's September 30, 2006 application, proposed a renewal permit that will run through December 31, 2015. As Vermont Yankee intends to close its facility in December 2014, the renewal term allows Vermont Yankee to establish a post-closure operation regime and provides ANR time to evaluate and permit the facility's post-closure discharge.
"The Agency has the authority and responsibility to address Vermont Yankee's thermal discharge," said Secretary Deb Markowitz. "In releasing Vermont Yankee's draft permit we officially begin the public comment period on this permit."
On December 23, 2013, the Shumlin Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vermont Yankee that settled the issues surrounding the company's request for a Certificate of Public Good (CPG) from the Public Service Board (PSB) to operate until December 31, 2014. The MOU provides that "VY shall operate the VY Station in accordance with its existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit. Entergy VY and ANR agree to continue to pursue issues related to Entergy VY's thermal discharge through ANR's NPDES permitting process, in accordance with state and federal law." The PSB issued a CPG to Entergy on March 28, 2014.
"Now that the permit is out for comment, we look forward to hearing from interested parties and stakeholders on how the thermal discharge should be addressed during the remainder of Vermont Yankee's operation," said Secretary Deb Markowitz.
The draft NPDES permit and fact sheet for Vermont Yankee is available at: http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/ww/htm/notices.htm.


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Why Clothes Might Not Be Made in China Much Longer
Manufacturing companies are bypassing China and moving factories to cheaper locales in Southeast Asia. Lever Style's Stanley Szeto explains why his company is gradually moving production to Vietnam and Indonesia.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the ... data suggests that China's losing its competitive edge at low cost manufacturing this to other countries in Southeast Asia ... Joe inning me now is Stanley's eat as CEO of love their style which manufactures ... the like said Ralph land and unit plans to expand its family for coming and ... so Stanley last time we spoke about the euro half again you are getting ready to move some manufacturing outside of China ... um what are you doing today and are higher wages in China are impacting how much or manufacturing ... absolutely we continue no push to move production from China to overseas ... and that I mean really stunning in Vietnam and were also looking to India Indonesia and a couple of the places ... of death only higher wages in China is making ... labor intensive production in ... the lead in industries such as ours and apparel manufacturing ... less competitive than before ... and you know we are no ... VeriFone crispy looking for ... offshore production ... how much of your production is now outside China and what ... what is your I maintain shame going forward ... a company that we use to be about a hundred ... he is the hundred percent in China as of eighteen months ago now with the five percent outside of China ninety five in China ... hopefully within a year or two ... we'll get to fall to twenty twenty five percent outside China that's it that's a significant amount and in in a relatively little time ... we spoke of that but you know I know what are the things you are doing as many manufacturers in China is pushing ... up a lot of the manufactured out of the Pearl River Delta in the self up north to the western regions where oh where wages are actually suppose to be lower up there is that not the case is still the case ... as western China is still twenty twenty five percent ... lower in wage costs and so some in China ... however he is trying to ignore them and be in all it's it's it's one country so this ... southern Chinese China it costs go up ... Weston China's costs also called for the bill probably always be a spread ... of twenty twenty five percent ... okay so how much are ... higher wages cutting into your business and you're in the end is actually paid for it is that passed ... down to um your your customers of going for chalet now industry has been deflationary for twenty years and it doesn't appear to stop ... so deftly consumers are not paying for it and therefore I'll cost ... the Browns ... aam are paying for it ... so it is to please a lot of the margin compression ... and also I think of this this is being moved offshore ... and in the low costs elsewhere and at the end of day where selling a ... in a way of commodity and a price taker ... so I just because Alcosta higher than everybody else's doesn't mean that we can charge more ... than what the market is this a bit I sat at the end of the past I had spoken to manufacturers to complain that manufacturing outside China ... but you can really compare you couldn't compete ... with the craftsmanship and the speed at which things get done outside China is this still the case where you seen skills in places like Vietnam really have come up to par ... photo Leah skills are improving in place like Vietnam in other places however there's still a cap ... with what they can do versus what China can do ... and is not just skills is also the infrastructure the servicing ... the speed of of how things can move ... so China still has an advantage there ... ok what other countries the site from Vietnam are attractive to you right now we're looking at Indonesia ... India ... to a lesser extent Cambodia ... of me and MAR and I was a very hot country full of love the cool cat ... uncertainly Bangladesh Bangladesh has already second-largest a ... pair of producing country in the world behind China ... the cayenne sale and if you're someone like you is considering moving around twenty twenty five percent outside of ... Thaiday you've got to ... believe that this is gonna have a a a significant impact ... see it that that that plea there's been a significant impact offices ... of the we got we got there we gotta go to site to ... the same thing as what happened to Hong Kong thirty years ago the Hong Kong was once a manufacturing base ... and is hopeful got more expensive than the production to migrate from Hong Kong ... into China and now from China on to other places and cake thanks Fran Maxim's lever style Stanley's eat it for joining me ... for more on that star a pink added Avista dot com I'm Deborah con ...


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In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
As I approached the perfectly round door of my motel unit, I thought of that first line in J.R.R.Tolkien's epic novel, The Hobbit. I was staying in my very own Hobbit hole at Woodlyn Park in Waitomo, New Zealand. The little home built into the ground was the perfect beginning to my quest to discover Tolkien's fantastic Middle-Earth.
As a young reader, I was transported to a wondrous land of magical and terrifying characters in the richly drawn landscape of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. In my imagination I accompanied the diminutive Hobbits on every step of Bilbo Baggins's trek from his darling home in the Shire to the desolate Lonely Mountains, and Frodo Baggins's subsequent journey to the treacherous Modor.
So it was with trepidation I bought tickets for Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Rings on the big screen years ago. Jackson's decision to film in his native New Zealand was brilliant, as the youngest geographical locale on Earth contains varied landscapes perfectly suited to represent the barren wastelands, soaring mountain ranges and sundappled forests of Tolkien's work.
A decade after the first of the blockbuster trilogy was released, companies such as Red Carpet Tours still do bustling business offering "Ringers" 12-day tours with nationwide itineraries. "Fans will travel by minicoach, experiencing behind the scenes glimpses of the film locations, overnight stays at the same hotels once used by cast and crew, and plenty of opportunities to experience New Zealand's famous Maori culture and adventure tourism options," says Vic James, the managing director.
In my quest to follow in the footsteps of Hobbits and see as many filming locations as possible in just a few days, I travelled with just the official Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook as my co-pilot. I naively believed I'd be able to literally follow some of the hobbits' route, but quickly discovered that their route is no more than film trickery, with hundreds of locales used to create the seamless journey as depicted in the books.
When native Kiwi Ian Brodie heard that his country would be the backdrop for the filming of his favourite books, he approached New Line Productions with a request to shadow the film crew and pen a guidebook. "I could see the potential for tourism," recalled Brodie when I met him at Hobbiton Movie Set, near the Waikato town of Matamata. "The first print run was 20,000 copies, and we sold 19,000 in the first weekend. To date we've sold nearly half a million copies."
Many of these book buyers make the Hobbiton Movie Set their first film set stop, as did I. Concealed in the middle of a working 485-hectare private sheep ranch is the 4-hectare Shire Bilbo and Frodo Baggins called home. "All of the film sets were temporary," explains Brodie . "This was all to be destroyed at the end of filming, but some people realized there could be some tourism opportunities."
The family that owned the property went to New Line and arranged to keep the Shire, but the deal came too late to save half of the facades, which had already been removed. However, the party tree, the shire's lake and the mill and Bilbo's house at Bag End remained, and have drawn hundreds of thousands of tourists over the years.
I strolled peacefully through pastoral dells and sat in miniature Hobbit gardens, marvelling over the more than 30 charming, brightly painted facades of Hobbit holes.
A few days later, more than 1,400 kilometres away, I found myself holding on for dear life in a four-wheel drive Jeep careening around a historic gold mining road.
On a Nomad Safaris tour , our driver was navigating boulders up the Arrow River, the location where Frodo made his last flight to cross the waters of the Bruinen to reach the safety of Elrond's home in Rivendell.
Nestled around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu, the popular adventure tourism destination is overshadowed by the Remarkables mountain range on the lake's southeastern shore, which featured prominently in the trilogy as the Misty Mountains, among others.
We disembarked frequently to compare the stunning scenery with the still set photos in the location guidebook.
I didn't make it as far south as Wellington. There I could have toured Peter Jackson's physical effects company, Weta Workshop, and headed just north of the capital to picnic by the river at Rivendell, temporary home of the elves in Middle-earth, in Kaitoke Regional Park.
If You Go
- Getting there: Air New Zealand flies direct non-stop from Vancouver to Auckland two to four times a week (changes seasonally) and also offers convenient non-stop flights through other North American gateways.
- Where to stay: LOTR themed accommodation is available at Wanaka (near Queenstown) at Minaret Lodge (minaretlodge.co.nz) and Woodlyn Park in Waitomo (woodlynpark.co.nz).
- Top tours: The original Lord of the Rings tour company, Red Carpet Tours offers a classic 12 Day LOTR / Hobbit Tour (redcarpettours.com). Southern Lakes Sightseeing offers half-day, full-day, and multi-day trips (lordoftheringstours.co.nz). Nomad Safaris combines four wheel drive trips and gold panning into their half day tours (nomadsafaris.co.nz).
- Resources: newzealand.com is New Zealand's official tourism website. The site includes suggestions for planning a trip centred around Lord of the Rings highlights.


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While there's nothing definitive as of yet, it appears Ohio State could… maybe… possibly have its starting quarterback on the field for Game 3 of the 2013 season.
Heisman hopeful Braxton Miller suffered a lower-leg injury toward the end of the first offensive possession of the Buckeyes' blowout win over San Diego State yesterday. Carted off the field for further examination, it was subsequently reported that Miller had suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee.
Head coach Urban Meyer told the media following the win that, following "a long discussion on the sidelines" with medical personnel, he felt the three-year starter could've gone back in the game but "decided it was best not to." As for his prospects of playing on the road against Cal Saturday?
"I think there's a chance he'll be ready next week," Meyer said.
It likely won't be until midweek, at the earliest, that any type of decision on Miller's availability will be made.
Based on how Miller's replacement played against the Aztecs, though, the Buckeyes have somewhat of a cushion as far as rushing the starter back onto the field. During his three-plus quarters of time on the field, senior Kenny Guiton passed for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing 83 yards while adding another score on the ground.


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Airline Satisfaction at Highest Levels Among Fliers Since 2006
Despite airline gripes, customer satisfaction is on the rise.
May 15, 2013 -- A new study shows that for all the griping we do about the airlines, we haven't been this happy with the industry in seven years.
JD Power and Associates today released its 2013 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. It shows airline satisfaction among consumers is at its highest levels since 2006.
The study measures passenger satisfaction with North America airline carriers based on performance in seven factors (in order of importance): cost and fees; in-flight services; boarding/deplaning/baggage; flight crew; aircraft; check-in and reservation.
Satisfaction has improved across all seven factors.
Among traditional carriers, Alaska Airlines ranks highest in the traditional carrier segment for a sixth consecutive year. It also had the biggest gain in improvement since last year. Delta Airlines came in second place.
The survey found traditional carriers have the highest level of satisfaction in more than five years and a level of performance consistent with the period before the introduction of baggage and other fees.
When it comes to low-cost carriers, JetBlue came out on top for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Southwest Airlines.
More interesting findings:
• 15 percent of fliers use a mobile device to check in online, more than double the 6 percent who used mobile devices two years ago.
• Check-in satisfaction is higher among passengers who check in online for their flight than among those who check in at the airport via kiosk or the ticket counter.
• The impact of baggage fees is less pronounced than in the past as passengers are gradually more accepting of the fees, but they still continue to be a source of passenger dissatisfaction.
• Overall satisfaction among passengers who use Wi-Fi during their flight is 39 points higher than among those who do not use it.
• Among passengers who are greeted with a smile by airline staff, even if only some of the time, satisfaction scores are higher than among those who never receive a smile.


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Name:Ned s Atomic Dustbin
Biography:Ned's Atomic Dustbin's stylish fusion of punk and funk earned them a fair number of fans in the early '90s, just as England's Stone Roses-inspired "Madchester" scene was drawing to a close. Comprised of Jonn Penney (vocals), Rat (guitar), Matt Cheslin (bass), Alex Griffin (bass), and Dan Warton (drums), the group began as a neo-goth rock outfit in the late '80s. By the beginning of the '90s, the band had developed a dense, assaultive sound that was distinguished by their thundering two-bass attack. Ned's released their first single, "Kill Your Television," in 1990; on the back of a slick, sloganeering marketing attack (epitomized by the 86 T-shirts the band had designed in their first three years), the single reached the U.K. Top 50 and led to a record contract with Sony Music. The band released its debut album, God Fodder, in 1991; it entered the charts at number four. For the rest of the year, the group toured the world and released singles drawn from God Fodder. Though they remained popular in the U.K., they weren't able to gather anything larger than a cult following in America. Released in 1992, Are You Normal? also failed to expand their following. For 1995's Brainbloodvolume, Ned's decided to expand their trademark sound by experimenting with techno music, yet the album proved a commercial failure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
One More No More
Are You Normal?
God Fodder


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The Sabon® font was created by the well-known typographer Jan Tschichold over a three year period. It was released in 1967 as part of a joint venture by the Monotype, Linotype and Stempel foundries. It was inspired by an earlier Claude Garamond typeface Tschichold had seen on a 1592 specimen sheet printed by the Egenolff-Berner foundry.
The Sabon design is closely related to the Garamond font styles of the sixteenth century and is considered a beautiful, highly legible typeface face. It was based upon a particular type cut by Claude Garamond (1480-1561), a famous Parisian publisher and one of the most influential printers of all time.
A serif roman type style was used extensively in book publications at that time, and later became favored by the Egenolff-Berner foundry based in Frankfurt, Germany. One of Garamond's students, Jacques Sabon, worked for the foundry after leaving Garamond's tuition, and it was for Sabon that Tschichold's creation was named.
The Sabon design was initially created as the response to a request by a German type foundry for a face with equal spacing in the Roman and Italic versions, which would therefore create less of a workload when it came to typesetting. They also wanted a font that would behave the same way across the three tangible forms of technology available at the time: single-type machine composition, foundry type for hand composition and linecasting.
Identifont: EF Garamond No. 5
Typedia: Sabon
Art Director's Club: Jan Tschichold
Identifont: Sabon
Upon its 1967 release, the Sabon design was well received by the printing industry and continues to be used frequently in digital typesetting.
One of the most notable early uses of the font was in the 1973 release of the Washburn College Bible, by the US based graphic designer Bradbury Thompson. The font continues to be a very popular choice in the publication of religious texts; in 1979 it was again chosen for the US Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer.
Today, it is the official typeface for the prominent Stanford University and is favored for use in all official material emanating from the college.


text: The Food and Agricultural Sciences General Collection holds general resources about agriculture, food crops, farming, and soil and climate conditions conducive to agriculture. A main stay of the collection is the publications of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences. Special collections include Florida Historical Agriculture and Rural Life, International Farming Systems, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Survey publications of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


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Maracich v. Spears
|Docket No.
|Op. Below
|4th Cir.
Jan 9, 2013
|Jun 17, 2013
Holding: An attorney's solicitation of clients is not a permissible purpose covered by the "litigation exception" to the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
Judgment: Vacated and remanded, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Kennedy on June 17, 2013. Justice Ginsburg filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Scalia, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Turns out, turnabout is fair play (Kevin Russell)
- Details: Maracich v. Spears (Kevin Russell)
- Argument recap: Looking for a line south of trolling for clients (Kevin Russell)
- Argument preview: Is turnabout fair play under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act? (Kevin Russell)
- Six new grants, redistricting ruling (Lyle Denniston)
- Petition of the day (Ben Cheng)
|Proceedings and Orders
|Jul 2 2012
|Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 6, 2012)
|Aug 6 2012
|Brief of respondent Michael Eugene Spears, et al. in opposition filed.
|Aug 20 2012
|Reply of petitioner Edward F. Maracich, et al. filed.
|Aug 22 2012
|DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 24, 2012.
|Sep 25 2012
|Petition GRANTED.
|Oct 31 2012
|SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, January 9, 2013.
|Nov 9 2012
|Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed.)
|Nov 9 2012
|Brief of petitioners Edward F. Maracich, et al. filed.
|Nov 13 2012
|Record received from U.S.C.A. for 4th Circuit. (1 box)
|Nov 16 2012
|Nov 16 2012
|Brief amici curiae of Electronic Privacy Information Center, et al. filed. (Distributed)
|Nov 16 2012
|Brief amicus curiae of Electronic Frontier Foundation filed. (Distributed)
|Nov 28 2012
|Record from U.S.D.C. for the District of South Carolina is electronic.
|Dec 10 2012
|Brief of respondents Michael Eugene Spears, et al. filed. (Distributed)
|Jan 2 2013
|Reply of petitioners Edward F. Maracich, et al. filed. (Distributed)
|Jan 9 2013
|Argued. For petitioners: Joseph R. Guerra, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C.
|Jun 17 2013
|Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED. Kennedy, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Breyer, and Alito, JJ., joined. Ginsburg, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Scalia, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined.
|Jul 19 2013
|Jul 29 2013
|Record returned to U.S. C.A. for 4th Circuit.


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Angler Education Class to be Held at Olathe Bass Pro
Participants can be certified to teach fishing techniques in
The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, along with Fishing's Future, is excited to announce the Bass Pro Shops in
as the site of the next angler education course on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013. The class will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Conservation Room on the second floor. There is no cost to attend; however pre-registration is required through the Fishing's Future website (fishingsfuture.org). The Olathe Bass Pro Shops is located at Olathe 12051 Bass Pro Drive, Olathe, Kan. 66061
"Conducting a Kansas Angler Instructor Certification Class at Olathe Bass Pro Shops provides a fun and professional atmosphere for our future instructors to learn in," said KDWPT Community Fisheries Assistance Program coordinator Bryan Sowards. "We are grateful for Olathe Bass Pro Shops' cooperation with our new Angler Education Program, and we hope to see many more events like this in the future."
The Angler Education program, which was launched earlier this year, certifies anglers who successfully complete the course to teach fishing techniques within the state. Apart from becoming certified, participants will also be given valuable information regarding working with children, sample curriculums, and tips for preparing a class or clinic. Other subjects covered in the four-hour class include current fishing rules and regulations, species identification, fishing ethics, equipment, knot-tying, casting, fish habitat, aquatic nuisance species, and conservation practices.
"This class allows us to recruit fishing instructors who will eventually be able to act as volunteers on KDWPT's behalf, educating the public on fishing and the wonderful fishing resources our state provides," said Sowards. "
Kansas offers some of the best public fishing opportunities in the nation, and we think this is a great way for anglers to pass on their passion for fishing to those who may have yet to experience fishing."
Anglers interested in registering for the Nov. 2 course can sign up by visiting fishingsfuture.org and clicking "upcoming events," then "Kansas Angler Education Training Program."
For more information, contact Fishing's Future local coordinator Kevin Reich at[email protected], or by phone at (785) 577-6921.


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20 October, 2010 | (01 hr)
Sign In to access this Webcast
The global recession was a reminder that business leaders operate in a world of uncertainty. Many workforce challenges facing companies have changed, and in the scramble to survive the economic downturn many talent management leaders rightfully took a short term focus. While many workforce planners prepare for talent problems that they may face, they are much less aware of potential talent opportunities. Companies should be aware and ready to take advantage of these talent opportunities, particularly those that will emerge during the economic upturn.
We will contrast how the labor markets in various countries and regions have changed in the last two and a half years.
Significant employment declines in many developed countries have created a large pool of ready workers. But in a buyers' market, where are the bargains? For those companies who have identified their critical talent, this webcast can help them identify where and when to find these workers. Even if you're not buying now, knowing where the talent will be in the coming years will have you prepared for your company's rebound.
This webcast will discuss:
- An international comparison of general labor market trends for several of the largest global economies.
- Significant changes in the workforce as a result of the global recession.
- The importance of looking ahead for human resources and talent management professionals.
Christopher Woock
Christopher Woock is a former Researcher in the Human Capital Program and a former labor economist at The Conference Board. His research explores the links between human capital and business performance, including assessing the implications of labor market trends for talent management strategies;...Full Bio
Mary B. Young, D.B.A.
Dr. Mary Young leads The Conference Board's program of research on digital transformation's human capital impacts, big data and human capital analytics, and strategic workforce planning.
Mary is the author of more than 25 research publications from The Conference Boardin...Full Bio


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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Barbara Johnson knew last Saturday, the day of her mother's funeral, would be difficult. But she and her lesbian partner of 20 years had no idea that the priest at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Md., would be a source of her grief.
Johnson, 51, of Washington, D.C, walked into the church, mourning the mom she described to msnbc.com as "a really cool woman; she was 85 going on 58."
When Johnson and her partner arrived at the church – which her mom had attended, and her dad, too, before he died years prior – they were summoned by Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, a man they were meeting for the first time. He didn't express his condolences, Johnson said, instead curtly getting down to business.
Johnson had painfully written a eulogy; her niece had also penned one. "We only allow one eulogy," Guarnizo informed them, despite the fact that the church's music director had told them otherwise, Johnson told msnbc.com. Johnson said she asked her partner to plead with Guarnizo to allow for two while she was called away for her pallbearer duties.
The day, already tense, was about to get significantly worse. Johnson said the priest denied her Communion at her own mother's funeral, telling her he couldn't give it to her because she was gay.
When it came time to hand out bread and wine, Guarnizo "issued a strong admonition that only Catholics in a state of grace can receive Communion," Johnson told msnbc.com. "I went up. I was standing next to my mother's casket and he covered the bowl, and said, 'I cannot give you Communion because you are with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin.' I stood there with my mouth open in a state of shock for – I don't know how long."
But he wasn't finished, Johnson said. Guarnizo had finally agreed to allow two eulogies, but she said family members told her that he proceeded to walk out of the service in the middle of Johnson's dedication to her mother – something he didn't do during her niece's eulogy.
As the final insult, Johnson told msnbc.com, Guarnizo failed to attend her mother's burial: "When the funeral home director appears, he says, 'Father Marcel has taken ill. He says he has a migraine and is unable to accompany your mother's remains to the cemetery.' This was, for me and my family, his most egregious act."
The Johnsons now want Guarnizo removed from his post, and are seeking an apology from him.
"You brought your politics, not your God into that Church yesterday, and you will pay dearly on the day of judgment for judging me," Barbara Johnson wrote in a letter to Guarnizo. "I will pray for your soul, but first I will do everything in my power to see that you are removed from parish life so that you will not be permitted to harm any more families."
Msnbc.com emailed Guarnizo on Wednesday but did not receive any response from him. Long videos online show him delivering anti-choice speeches, calling abortion clinics "veritable death camps."
Priest doesn't apologize, but archdiocese does
Johnson, whose story was first reported in The Washington Post, said that Guarnizo has yet to apologize to her family or make any public remarks, but on Tuesday, the Archdiocese of Washington sent Johnson a letter of apology after she spoke with the secretary there.
"In my years as a priest, I have encountered many pastoral situations and know that kindness to those experiencing personal loss is a necessary part of the Church's call to charity," said the letter, signed by Rev. Barry Knestout of the archdiocese. "The fact that you did not experience this is a cause of great concern and personal regret to me. It is understandable that you and your family would expect the funeral of your mother to be a time of fond remembrance of her life and comfort from the Church in the midst of family grief."
The letter apologized for the "lack of pastoral sensitivity."
Guarnizo's behavior was against the Archdiocese of Washington's policy, according to a statement issued by officials.
"When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person," the statement said. "Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting."
When asked how she identifies herself religiously, Johnson told msnbc.com, "I'm a Catholic. I'm deeply influenced by eastern religion philosophy and the nonviolence of Gandhi and the Dalai Lama along with my church upbringing."
Her parents worked hard to provide a Catholic school upbringing for her and her siblings.
"I've had a very rich and complex relationship with the Catholic church. As an adult, being a lesbian presents conflicts with one's spirituality. I've been fortunate particularly in the last several years – I've received Communion every time I've gone to church," she said.
'My mother loved the Catholic Church ... If she loved it, it was good'
For Johnson, however, the Catholic Church and Guarnizo are totally separate.
"It's very important for everyone to know that my mother loved the Catholic Church. Her life was not celebrated properly; she wasn't treated with respect by Father Marcel. His actions have turned people. I have gotten email upon email saying, 'I'm not going back,' and I say, 'Please go back, because that man does not represent the Catholic Church.' My mother loved the Catholic Church, and if she loved it, it was good."
Johnson said she's been overwhelmed by the support she has received from elsewhere in the church since the funeral.
"That's where I'm focusing. Our family's mission is to heal. The thing that would be required for that, we believe, would be an apology from Father Marcel. We greatly appreciate the apology from the Archdiocese. We also think he needs to be removed from parish life so no one ever has to experience this on the most tragic day of their lives again."
Gay and lesbian-friendly faith leaders have backed Johnson.
"Shunning a grieving daughter at her mother's funeral is a heartless act that violates the great commandment Jesus gave us to love God and love our neighbor. When judgment trumps compassion the Gospel is lost. My heart goes out to a lesbian daughter who loved her mom enough to eulogize her while enduring such unfaithful actions," said Rev. Troy Plummer, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network with United Methodist Church.
Added Dr. Michael Adee, executive director of More Light Presbyterians: "We grieve that this daughter and her family experienced judgment rather than grace and care. We cannot imagine how a priest or pastor could fail to provide pastoral care during the funeral of a loved one."
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News


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• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
The US has offered a $10 million bounty for the Pakistani militant accused of plotting the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, which killed 166 people, including several US citizens. The move was welcomed in India, but could anger rival Pakistan, which has been considering changes to its fraught relationship with the US.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed lives openly in Pakistan, occasionally giving speeches and appearing on talk shows, and founded the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the 1980s. The US considers it a terrorist group and Pakistan officially banned LeT in 2002 under US pressure, but the group still operates relatively freely in Pakistan, Associated Press reports.
India, which has struggled to contain and punish terror attacks on its soil, welcomed the news of the US bounty and held it up as proof that Pakistan harbors terrorists, the Indian Express reports.
"I think it has become clear before the world and everybody recognises that a terror mastermind, who was instrumental in terror attacks, is being sheltered and harboured there (Pakistan)," Home Secretary RK Singh said. "We welcome it. It is a very good step. It is absolutely appropriate and necessary. I hope this move will add pressure on Pakistan to act."
The New York Times reports that Saeed lives openly on the outskirts of Lahore and previous attempts to prosecute him have failed, as did efforts to put him under house arrest. "Hafiz Saeed and his aides are not fugitives. They are not living a secret life. They are living in Pakistan as free members of society," said Hafiz Muhammad Masood, the central information secretary with the social welfare arm of LeT, Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
The bounty on Saeed could further upset an already endangered counterterrorism partnership between the US and Pakistan. After an accidental US strike on Pakistani troops in November, Pakistan closed its Afghanistan border crossings to US supplies bound for NATO troops there. It also blocked access to an air base the US formerly used to launch drone strikes.
The US is hoping that current deliberations will result in the border being reopened – something Saeed has vocally opposed, organizing demonstrations against the move. The Pakistani government has "historical links" to the militant and it is politically dangerous to be seen as "doing Washington's bidding" by pursuing Saeed, AP notes.
Saeed has spoken at rallies throughout the country organized by the Defense of Pakistan Council, a lobby aiming to persuade politicians to vote against the reopening of the supply lines. The group, which counts banned jihadist groups among its members, operates freely in Pakistan. The US suspects that it has unofficial support from Pakistan's military, possibly as a way to further pressure Washington, The New York Times reports.
In many ways, Mr. Saeed embodies Pakistan's struggle to rein in homegrown Islamist militants. The former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, banned Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2002 but it quickly reemerged under the guise of its charity wing, Jamaat-ud-Dawa.… But the greatest problem lies in his ambiguous relationship with the military's powerful intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. The ISI nurtured Lashkar-e-Taiba in the 1990s to fight Indian soldiers in Indian-occupied Kashmir and it quickly gained a reputation as a disciplined and effective militant unit.
ISI officials insist they effectively lost control of the group after cutting their ties in 2002. But they have also failed to stop its fundraising and recruitment activities through Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which operates from the Muridke compound outside Lahore and has run substantial charity operations across Pakistan, particularly after an earthquake in 2005 and widespread floods in 2010.
The $10 million reward is one of the highest offered by the US, equal to the amount offered for Taliban chief Mullah Omar. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became head of Al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death, commands a $25 million bounty. There has been an Interpol arrest warrant for Saeed for some time, but Pakistan has not acted on it.
Reuters reports that Pakistan's intelligence agency "nurtured" LeT and Pakistan still tolerates the group because it considers it a useful tool for pressuring neighbor India, which it has fought in four separate wars in the last 65 years.
The US also announced yesterday that it was posting a $2 million bounty for Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, Mr. Saeed's brother-in-law, The New York Times reports.


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Feliciano: IL batter of the week
The International League's leading hitter, Bisons outfielder Jesus Feliciano, extended his hitting streak to 12 games to raise his average on the season to .383.
During the past week, he led the League inbatting average (.483), hits (14), runs scored (8), and on-base percentage (.543) to help the Bisons climb into a tie for 1st place in the IL North Division.
Feliciano managed multiple hits in five of the seven games during the week, including three-hit efforts on Monday against Norfolk and Sunday at Lehigh Valley. Since his current 12-game hitting streak began on May 12, he is hitting .458. His .383 average on the season leads the IL by more than 30 points.
Jesus Feliciano, who will turn 31 in less than two weeks, is in his 13th season of professional baseball. Originally drafted by the Dodgers in the 36th round of the 1997 draft, Feliciano has also spent time in the Tampa Bay and Washington organization's before signing as a free agent with the Mets in 2007.
Feliciano is the second Bisons player to earn the IL Batter of the Week Award in
2010, following Mike Hessman (April 26-May 2).
Last year he led the International League with 154 hits and was named Buffalo's Stan Barron Most Valuable Player Award winner. Feliciano is a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.


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And the locust?
I knew what you meant BM .... I even restrained myself from saying that you're prolly well used to having to whack insect sized things for yourself ... what with LL being away an' all
Get yer gun out... would be justified as you can't go shooting this afternoon
Shoot the fvcking lot of 'em
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AP Photo/Minnesota Department of Health
Vials of the injectable steroid made by New England Compounding Center implicated in a fungal meningitis outbreak. About 17,700 single-dose vials of the steroid sent to 23 states have been recalled.
Federal health officials had good news Wednesday for some of the people injected with fungus-contaminated steroids: They don't have an open-ended wait to find out if they are infected.
The greatest risk for fungal meningitis comes in the first six weeks -- 42 days -- after injection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. After that, doctors and patients still need to watch but they may not need to worry quite as much, the CDC said in updated guidance.
"This is the light at the end of the tunnel," Dr. John Dreyzehner, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, said at a press conference Wednesday about the new guidelines. "By Nov. 8, patients exposed in Tennessee will have passed the 42-day mark."
In Tennessee, 70 patients have been sickened and nine died -- the most in the nation -- after receiving tainted steroid injections.
The outbreak of fungal disease has made 308 people sick in 17 states so far, and 23 of them have died, the CDC says. The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., the pharmacy that distributed the contaminated steroids, has been closed and its license has been permanently revoked. State officials say they have found dirty conditions there.
As many as 14,000 people may have received injections from three batches of steroid from the plant, the CDC says. Those not already sick are waiting and worrying that every headache might mean they have meningitis, an inflammation of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord.
The contaminated steroids were shipped to 76 pain clinics nationwide. CDC officials said the potentially tainted shots were first given May 21.
Patients are monitoring themselves for symptoms including headache, fever, nausea, stiff neck and sensitivity to bright light. Patients who received injections and are concerned should contact their doctors, officials say. Doctors must then decide whether to give a spinal tap to test the spinal fluid, a procedure that itself can cause headache and other side-effects. CDC still says no one should get antifungal drugs unless they show some signs of infection.
"CDC does not recommend initiation of antifungal treatment in the absence of diagnostic test results indicating fungal meningitis in exposed patients who are asymptomatic," the agency says.
Patients will likely have to undergo months of treatment with two antifungal drugs, voriconazole and amphotericin B. "Adequate duration of antifungal treatment is unknown, but patients likely will require prolonged therapy tailored by the clinical response to treatment," CDC said.
Most of the patients have been infected with a black mold called Exserohilum. It rarely infects people and only a few drugs can get to it, notably voriconazole.
"Antifungal treatment with voriconazole carries significant risk of hallucinations and other neurologic side effects, and liver damage. CDC recommends careful discussion of risks and benefits between physicians and their patients," CDC said.
Doctors should check up on all patients who got any injectable drug made by NECC since May 21, the Food and Drug Administration says.
CDC notes that it has been at least 26 days since anyone got a contaminated injection. People have an 8 percent risk of infection at that point and the risk goes down to just over 1 percent after 42 days. Most of the people who have died from the fungal infections suffered strokes, and most got sick quickly after being injected.
"The majority of these patients will have risks of stroke or death that are much lower than the estimates noted here, and their risk will continue to decrease as more time elapses since their last injection."
The lots of tainted drugs were recalled on Sept. 26, so patients should be in the clear by Election Day, Nov. 6, according to the CDC's math.
CDC says 47 patients have laboratory-confirmed fungal meningitis. "This form of fungal meningitis is not contagious," the agency says. All have Exserohilum except for one who had an infection with Aspergillus, another mold, and one with a fungus called Cladosporium.
"These fungi are common in the environment but rarely cause meningitis," CDC says.
Related links:
- Filthy conditions found at NECC
- Massachusetts to revoke license of pharmacy tied to fungal meningitis
- Fungal meningitis destroyed Maryland woman's brain
- Clues predict who will get sick from fungal infection
- More drugs linked to meningitis outbreak
Investigators at the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to the meningitis outbreak say they found visible fungus, standing water and other unsanitary conditions at the facility.


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This is a simple activity to do in the fall. I brought this along on a trip to complete in our downtime at the hotel.
I found a bag of glittery leaf stickers for $1 (either at Target or Rite Aid?). I drew the tree trunk prior to the activity, but this certainly doesn't need to be done beforehand. Since they were foam stickers, J had no problem filling his tree completely on his own. And I thought the end result looked really good!
This would be a good travel activity. It involves little to pack and will keep them occupied for awhile!
Age attempted: 30 months
(We did a similar activity with dot markers last year.)


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Senator: JPMorgan strategy like a 'runaway train'March 15, 2013: 2:00 PM ET
Current and former JPMorgan Chase executives, including ex-chief investment officer Ina Drew, are in Washington to testify about the bank's $6 billion London Whale losses before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Democrat Carl Levin and Republican John McCain.
Drew's testimony marks her first public comments on the bungled trades. Ex-head of market risk in JPMorgan's chief invesment office Peter Wieland and acting risk offer Ashely Bacon also testified.
Levin and McCain, who led a nine-month investigation into the trades, said JPMorgan (JPM) manipulated results to mask the depth of the losses, actively shielding them from both regulators and investors in a scathing report released Thursday.
Levin kicked of the hearing, calling the trading loss a "disaster" and likening JPMorgan's trading strategy to "a "runaway train."
Throughout Levin's comments, Drew appeared to be less than pleased.
McCain also railed on the bank during his opening statement.
Drew was the first among the panelists to speak. After she was sworn in, Drew began by talking about her career. Speaking softly, she said she was "proud of the amount of success we had protecting the bank." While she called her decision to resign last May "devastating," Drew also took "responsibility" for the mistakes that happened on her watch.
Related: Former London Whale boss: I was misled
But she added that her ability to limit risks and losses was undermined. She said that while her oversight was "reasonable and diligent," she has since learned "that valuations for many of the book's positions were inflated and not calculated or reported in good faith."
As senators pressed the panelists about the losses and their communication with bang regulators at the Office the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), criticism and jokes were plentiful in the Twittersphere:
Following a short break, former CFO Doug Braunstein and Michael Cavanaugh, the JPMorgan exuecutive who led the internal investigation of the London Whale Losses, joined the witness panel.
During his questioning, Levin asked the panelists about the the daily profit and loss statements provided to the OCC as the bank's losses were adding up. He noted that a report dated mid-April to regulators showed that the trading losses were about $580 million, while an internal report revealed a $1.2 billion loss.
Drew said "to the best of my knowledge, the OCC was given daily reports of the CIO's mark-to-market activities." Levin was clearly dumbfounded by her response, repeating "to the best of her knowledge."
Braunstein and Cavanaugh said its was JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's decision to temporarily withhold the data. Dimon testified before the Senate last June, and was not at Friday's hearing.
Braunstein added that he does "regret" his role, and admitted that his pay in 2012 was almost cut in half.
Levin also asked about how traders disguised the depth of the losses. After some poking and prodding, Levin got Cavanaugh to admit that trades were marked differently to reduce the amount of losses, and then made the last word on the matter:
Levin continued to grill the witnesses, and thanked them for coming without a subpoena.


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Most of her work was conducted in the field or in writing, but Carson's book and the controversy around it led her into public speaking...reluctantly. Her 1964 obituary in the New York Times reveals her public speaking fears--and how she spoke, anyway:
People remembered Miss Carson for her shyness and reserve as well as for her writing and scholarship. And so when she received a telephone call after the publication of "The Sea Around Us," asking her to speak in the Astor Hotel at a luncheon, she asked Miss Rodell what she should do.
The agent counseled her to concentrate on writing. Miss Carson nodded in agreement, went to the phone, and shortly came back and said somewhat helplessly: "I said I'd do it."
There were 1,500 persons at the luncheon, Miss Carson was "scared to death," but she plunged into the talk and acquitted herself. As part of her program she played a recording of the sounds of underseas, including the clicking of shrimp and the squeeks of dolphins and whales. With the ice broken as a public speaker, Miss Carson continued with others sporadically.That's the earliest reference I've heard of a scientist playing undersea noises. Sounds like an early TED talk, doesn't it? Many years later, Vice President Al Gore, in a speech about Carson, highlighted the ways she was attacked as a woman in efforts to diminish her impact:
....because Carson was a woman, much of the criticism directed at her played on stereotypes of her sex. Calling her "hysterical" fit the bill exactly. Time magazine added the charge that she had used "emotion-fanning words." Her credibility as a scientist was attacked as well: opponents financed the production of propaganda that supposedly refuted her work. It was all part of an intense, well-financed negative campaign, not against a political candidate but against a book and its author.Her speech, "A New Chapter to Silent Spring" addressed the Garden Club of America in 1963, the year after Silent Spring was published. The club--largely comprised of activist women gardeners--was a savvy audience choice for Carson, who was bringing her message directly to public audiences with speeches such as this one. And her message warned that citizens could not rely on many of the authoritative sources of information on the dangers of pesticides, from the federal government to professional organizations.
It is my conviction that if we automatically call in the spray planes or reach for the aerosol bomb when we have an insect control problem we are resorting to crude methods of a rather low scientific order. We are being particularly unscientific when we fail to press forward with research that will give us the new kinds of weapons we need. Such weapons now exist -- brilliant and imaginative prototypes of what I trust will be the insect control methods of the future…. Research men at the Department of Agriculture have told me privately that some of the methods that they have developed and tested and turned over to the insect control branch have been quietly put on the shelf.Here's what you can learn from this pivotal speech:
- Give the audience your inside view. What's the real problem? Yes, eagles were dying and food crops were tainted. But after years of working in government and armed with her scientific knowledge and observations, Carson knew that a major barrier to change was a system full of conflicts of interest in the production and regulation of pesticides--conflicts that benefited industry. She told her listeners that the American Medical Association was referring its physician members to a pesticide trade association when they needed answers to patients' questions about the harmful effects of insect sprays, and raised questions about scientific societies and universities taking donations or research funding from the same industry groups. Those conflicts would otherwise have been invisible to her listeners.
- If your topic is technical, make your words universal: There's not a word in this speech that dumbs down the topic, yet it's understandable and clear. Carson doesn't resort to her profession's jargon, but puts the issue in terms anyone can understand.
- Make a bold call for action that solves the problem: Carson significantly called for an independent environmental agency, since pesticides in her day were regulated by the Department of Agriculture, which also had a mission to support the industry and the farmers that used its products. Today, the EPA has no parent agency, an important accomplishment that came a decade after Carson called for it. Getting citizens to understand why that independence is important made this speech a first step toward the goal.
- Give your listeners something they can do: Carson, ever the scientist, gave her listeners the best tool to guard against these conflicts: Questions they should ask.Her conclusion for the speech: "As you listen to the present controversy about pesticides, I recommend that you ask yourself--Who speaks?--And Why?"
Use the Evernote clip button, above, to save this post in an Evernote notebook. Go here to subscribe to Step Up Your Speaking, my free email newsletter that looks at a different speaking topic in depth each month...then become a fan of The Eloquent Woman on Facebook and join the conversation with thousands of other women (and men) about public speaking skills and confidence.


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Important Links
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Requirements/Eligibility to Participate in an Internship
Faculty policies that regulate internships require that the student:
- Be in "good academic standing" (minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and not on academic probation);
- Has completed 64 semester hours toward the degree before starting the internship;
- Has completed all other prerequisites required by the supervising department;
- Present to the selected faculty internship supervisor a well-developed and completed Internship Agreement before the semester in which the internship is desired;
- Has earned no more than ten (10) semester hours of internship credit toward graduation.
In order to earn the specified number of credits, the student must:
- Complete a minimum of 35 hours of work for each credit earned;
- Consult with the faculty internship supervisor at mutually convenient times during the internship (no less than three times - beginning, midway through and at the end of the completion of the experience);
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Internship Checklist
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- Identify a faculty internship supervisor (usually from you major or minor department)
- Apply for internship, first making sure that your resume and cover letter are appropriate
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- Complete the Internship Agreement form, making sure you get all necessary signatures
- Follow registration procedures on back of the Internship Agreement form
Please be aware that you must pay for each credit hour done for credit during Summer Semester or Overload. Completed internship agreement form must be turned in by the last day to add classes for the semester in which the internship is to be completed.


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Never Give Up Hope II
In last week's issue we wrote about the lesson those involved in outreach to alienated Jews could learn from the story of a ring lost in the sea returned after 30 years. A recent CNN documentary amplified this lesson of never giving up hope by interviewing two Polish former neo-Nazis who only recently discovered their Jewish roots.
Ola and Pawel were very involved in the skinhead neo-Nazi movement and one day Ola recalled that when she was 13 years old her mother told her about their family's Jewish ancestry. Determined to investigate further, she went to Poland's Jewish Historical Institute. There she confirmed what her mother related about her ancestors hiding their Jewish identity to escape Nazi persecution.
When she also discovered that the same was true of her skinhead husband a dramatic change came over the couple. They began attending an Orthodox synagogue and eventually fully embraced Judaism. Today Pawel is studying to work in a kosher slaughterhouse and Ola is working as kashrut supervisor in the synagogue kitchen.
Warsaw Chief Rabbi Michael Shudrich, who has served as their guide, thus sums up the story:
"It says on a personal level never write somebody off. Where they may have been ten years ago doesn't have to be where they are today."


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Social Security Updates Name Change Policy
The Social Security Administration has updated its policy so that partners in same-sex couples can go through the agency to change their names.
The development comes after the federal agency had denied numerous couples the right, even though same-sex marriage has been legal in California for more than a month and an SSA document from July acknowledged marriage equality coming to the state. The document also said marriage certificates for same-sex couples who've been legally married are "valid evidence of a name change."
The policy change hadn't made it to the Social Security office in the East Bay city of Fremont when Lisa Hagan, 46, went there to have her name changed. Hagan - whose maiden name is Gray - married Dawn Hagan, 37, August 12 in Oakland. The women, who live in Fremont, have been together for four years.
Hagan went to her local SSA office August 14, with a completed Social Security form number 5 (http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.pdf) and her marriage certificate in hand.
A worker there "said I had all the right paperwork," but then "she asked me if it was a same-sex marriage, and I said, 'Yes,'" said Hagan.
The employee left. When she returned about 15 minutes later, "She said she was sorry, they did not have the go-ahead to do name changes for same-sex marriages yet," said Hagan. She said the staffer told her that she would hold onto the paperwork, and once the agency's policy changed, she'd submit the documents and send Hagan a new Social Security card.
"Then she congratulated me for getting married, which was nice, but I was a little disappointed," said Hagan. "I didn't know what to say. I was confused."
She added, "I didn't feel like she was being homophobic. She seemed kind of disappointed herself that she couldn't fix it for me."
When Hagan got home, she emailed the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the national LGBT organization based in San Francisco. An NCLR staffer told her "they were getting similar complaints," said Hagan.
In an interview Monday, August 19, Shannon Minter, NCLR's legal director, said, "A lot of people are having problems" changing their names even after the U.S. Supreme Court announced June 26 that it had effectively struck down the state's Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban.
"The Social Security Administration has not updated its guidance, so all the Social Security staff are still looking at an outdated guidance that says same-sex couples cannot marry in California," said Minter.
Minter said NCLR has alerted the federal agency to the problem and he and others were "pretty confident they will fix it promptly."
Shortly after Minter spoke with the Bay Area Reporter he emailed the paper a link to the SSA document outlining the policy update ( https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/1502712006).
The document is dated July 26 but wasn't set to be effective until August 16 - two days after Hagan's visit to the agency's Fremont office. It explains the Supreme Court's ruling and the events that led up to it. Two days after the justices announced their 5-4 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay on same-sex marriages, allowing the weddings to resume immediately in the state.
"On June 28, 2013, California again began authorizing the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples," the Social Security document said. "Therefore, the Social Security Administration (SSA) should accept California marriage certificates issued to same-sex couples, between June 17, 2008 and November 4, 2008," when such marriages were first legal statewide, "or after June 27, 2013, as valid evidence of a name change."
A Social Security spokeswoman wasn't available to comment for this story.
Hagan said in an interview after the policy change was released that she would "wait a few days" for her name change to be finalized, and she'd return to the Fremont office if she didn't hear from agency staff.
Finally, in an email Wednesday morning, August 21, she said, "I checked my online account with Social Security and they've already changed my name to Hagan."
It seems Social Security staff should have been aware that same-sex marriage is allowed in California when Hagan first visited the agency, but Minter was sympathetic.
"I understand they work for the government," he said. "... I wouldn't point the blame to those individual employees," since they're supposed to follow the agency's guidelines.
Going through the SSA is "the simplest way" for someone in a same-sex couple to change their name, said Minter. The alternative is to go before a judge, "and that's much more cumbersome," he said.
In an email last Wednesday, before the SSA policy change went into effect, Dawn Hagan said her reaction to her wife's experience was "disappointment."
"Lisa was really looking forward to changing her name and we thought all the obstacles had been lifted," she said. "It's hard that we are still treated differently than any other couple just married."
Dawn Hagan was pleased with the federal agency's policy update. In an email after the change was announced, she said, "Lisa and I are hoping this will be the last hiccup in this process. It's the little things like this that are a constant reminder that we all need to do our part to ensure that we are all treated equally."


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Please join us on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 for the Library and Information Technology Forum. This month features Joyce Mitchell, Associate Vice President for Academic Health IT, talking about FURTHeR: Searching the University's Data Resources for Clinical Cohorts. Please join us in the Spencer F. and Cleone P. Eccles Health Sciences Education Building, Room 1730 at 12:30-1:30 p.m. for this program.
Program Description: The FURTHeR system has been developed to assist the research community with questions related to finding clinical cohorts for research purposes. This system is available to anyone with a University ID, is approved by the Institutional Review Board, and makes de-identified data available from your desktop via a web link. More data sources will become available as the system is expanded. Come and see if it helps you with your questions.
Presenter: Joyce Mitchell is the Associate Vice President for Academic Health IT. Faculty and staff from the Academic Health IT office have been working with their counterparts at ITS and the Utah Population Database (UPDB) to make this system possible. Joyce Mitchell is also a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics in the School of Medicine.
For more details, visit the LIFT Forum page. Program can be viewed from off-site via links from the web page; and available on demand after the program.
The LIFT Forum is co-sponsored by the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library and the Media-on-Demand committee.
Questions can be directed to: Jeanne Le Ber; 801-585-6744


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Morocco was a trade center for centuries and you can still see the influences of Arab, Spanish, and French cultures in this design style. This style is colorful, casual, and welcoming. Walls are generally heavily textured and painted rich colors. Textiles and tiles are common decorative elements and have bold geographic patters like stars or chevrons. Tiled floors commonly feature Persian rugs. Furniture is generally made with wood and overstuffed cushions, and additional seating can be accommodated through the use of floor pillows.
Elements of design:
- The color palette is both warm and vibrant through the use of blues, yellows, reds, greens, oranges, and bright pink
- Tiled floors are common, often warmed up with large Persian Rugs
- Solid wood-framed furniture with comfortable, overstuffed cushions, and floor pillows
- Decorative tiles with bright geometric patterns, such as starbursts or chevrons
- Tile mosaic inlays are often used in furniture, on floors, and as wall decorations
- Wrought iron wall ornaments, sconces, and room dividers are common decorative elements


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At times it's still hard to believe I'm 20 weeks pregnant! We are thrilled and wanted to share how this miracle came to pass. Most of the responses have been ... "That's what happens when you adopt, you get pregnant afterwards!". Well, it wasn't that easy AND a lot of women simply do not have that option. I know those responses were out of love and I have no hard feelings, but it has inspired me to write another chapter of this journey we've been on.
It's all about the Lord's timing and we know without a doubt that Madelyn was meant to be in our family, but just as importantly her birthmother and family were also meant to be apart of our family. Would this had happened if we already had children of our own? It's unlikely. We both feel passionately about adoption and hope our journey has helped someone feel it's not always a negative process. In fact we have reason to feel that it's usually the adoptive parents that make the process more difficult and harmful than needed.
While living in Connecticut, we had amazing insurance (it would have covered IVF treatments) and we jumped on the band wagon immediately to take advantage. We went through a few doctors and this past summer switched to an OB that was finally able to direct me to the right Specialist. At this point, there had been lots of meds and treatments that were unsuccessful. We would have had an IUI or IVF treatment a long time ago but the meds they kept putting me did not "jumpstart" my ovaries. If you know anything about getting pregnant you know your ovaries have to be functioning properly. The new Specialist decided to put me on a cancer pill they had recently discovered help women ovulate. At first I wasn't too thrilled about being put on another med, but while in his office a warm feeling came over me it was the right step. The first round was not successful but was successful because for the first time I was able to produce a follicle. With the second round of these meds, I had to be in the lab by 6:30 a.m. to get my blood taken to make sure we didn't miss my surge. I did that for 10 days. If I did surge, the plan was to do an IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). This is when they take "washed" sperm (your husbands) and directly inseminate into the uterus. By the grace of God, I was able to be inseminated on 10/11/12 (I LOVE cool dates!)! However, having an exact date to know if the procedure worked emotionally drained me. I barely did anything for a week because I was convinced my cycle was about to start. When the day came to take a pregnancy test, although faint, I knew it was successful! I didn't know what to say or how to say it but I got down on my knees immediately.
To make the day even sweeter it happened to be Cony's birthday. I quickly drew '1+1=2' on a wooden heart for Madelyn to hand him as his gift. I'm grateful I thought to record his reaction!
Words can not do our feelings and excitement justice. We know most of you have been praying on our behalf for years and we have sincerely felt them give us strength through this journey. We know how lucky we are to be able to carry a child of our own and to have beautiful people in our life!


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A church and museum rolled into one: Cologne Cathedral is not just one of the largest and most prominent cathedrals in the world, it is also home to fascinating and moving old art treasures of former beauty. It truly is a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Europe's once most famous pilgrimage church still majestically towers above Cologne city centre to this day. Pilgrims still come here, even after 750 years, but it is mainly tourists, worshippers and art connoisseurs from around the world who visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site (classified as such in 1996). The cathedral is wondrously adorned in major art treasures, including the winged altar at the heart of St. Mary's Chapel, which was painted in 1442 and is a masterpiece from the late Gothic Cologne School of Painting. Visitors are advised not to come to the cathedral during Advent or Lent, as the wings of the altar are closed during these periods.
The one-of-a-kind Shrine of the Three Kings is the largest, most artistically significant, and, in terms of its content, most ambitious reliquary of the Middle Ages. The Milan Madonna is utterly captivating. The original is said to have come with the relics of the Three Kings, but legend has it that it was destroyed during the fire in the Old Cathedral. The colourful stained-glass windows are spectacular. The oldest one dates back to the 13th century, whereas the newest is just ten years old. The low C note of St. Peter's Bell – the world's largest free-swinging bell – is moving, as is the pleasant sound of the Angelus Bell, the oldest preserved peal in the Western world. Take a seat in the choir stalls – where German emperors and the Pope once sat – and lap up the sound of the bells...
Opening hours: November to April: 6am to 7:30pm; May to October: 6am to 9pm; tours of the cathedral available on Sundays and bank holidays: 1pm to 4:30pm
Entry: free
Nearest train station: Cologne
Tours of the cathedral: for a fee. For more information (in German), visit: www.domfuehrungen-koeln.de; cathedral treasury and tower tour: for a fee. For opening hours, visit:
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